Grown

I'm going to go back and forth between 3 and 4 stars here. I loved what this novel did: it showed how power is used against young black females. Enchanted (17) is lured into a romantic relationship with an almost 30 year-old man under the guise of starting her recording career. Jackson lays it out in such a way that everything happens in small bits, easy to swallow and then when it become obvious that Enchanted is trapped by a predator, everyone is shocked that it happened.
To begin, to the average person it seems as if celebrities live in a different universe, with different rules. Secondly, Enchanted is a 17 year old who has stars in her eyes. I don't believe she was in any way emotionally mature. I believe she was sheltered and her obsession with Disney movies was symbolic of her limited exposure to reality and the dangers that are out there.
Third, her predator had YEARS of experience doing this- Enchanted was not his first, or even 20th victim. This whole system was a well-oiled abuse machine. And he kept her drugged most days.
Here is why is loses a star or two:
The whole Gabriella subplot confused the hell out of me. At first I thought maybe Gab was in the US illegally and had to stay hidden for fear of being discovered and deported? It took something out of the story for me, I get that Jackson was trying to show how the police and the authorities discredited everything Enchanted said, but this was...extra?And I am not in any way a crime or thriller lover. I don't watch any CSI's but even I know that breaking into a crime scene and removing evidence (even evidence that could exonerate you) is illegal and should have resulted in the nanny cam being thrown out of court). It was just over the top nutty behavior.Also the big reveal at the end is unclear. Did she kill him or not?
In the end, I think this is an important read because we live in a “blame the victim” society and it needs to change. It needs to change now. I appreciate what this story had to say.